Deputy Chair, this year's Africa Day celebrations are overshadowed by the dark cloud of the unbelievable perpetuation of injustice and electoral fraud that has taken place in Cte d'Ivoire right under the noses of the international community. Former President Thabo Mbeki has written an excellent account of what happened there, entitled ``What the world got wrong in Cte d'Ivoire''. His subtitle is: ``Why is the United Nations entrenching former colonial powers on our continent?''
The answer to this question can be found in the article Mr Mbeki wrote about the remarks made by former French President, Franois Mitterrand, when he allegedly said: "Without Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century." What he meant was that France desperately needs Africa's wealth to survive in this century. So, how can we celebrate Africa Day when serious attempts are being made to recolonise Africa before our very eyes?
Advocate Patricia Hamza, the former legal representative of the government of Cte d'Ivoire, who is now a refugee in Ghana, wrote a memorandum about events that took place after President Laurent Gbagbo was arrested by French special forces and handed over to the Ouattara rebels. She said, and I quote:
All pro-Gbagbos arrested at the residence and elsewhere were tortured, with many of them executed, and their properties destroyed and ransacked. Ouattara and his rebel forces have undertaken series of killing from a list they made in the style of the Nazi war. As the legal representative of the state, my residence was attacked; my nephew and one of my bodyguards were killed. Moreover, Ouattara's Justice Minister and public prosecutor deny us visit to the prisoners. And as from 13 April 2011 to date, the health and living conditions of President Gbagbo, his spouse, their son and collaborators are unknown. Some of the wounded prisoners do not have access to medical treatments and are mostly locked up in containers. President Gbagbo is in serious danger. Ouattara and his rebels circulated rumours that he attempted suicide.
How can we celebrate Africa Day with a clear conscience when a once democratic and prosperous nation, Cte d'Ivoire, has now become worse than apartheid South Africa, where wounded prisoners are denied access to medical treatment?
How can we really celebrate Africa Day when France and the UN have been allowed to play a role in turning Cte d'Ivoire into an unsafe and undemocratic country, where the rights of a former head of state, his wife, son and support staff are grossly violated, including their right to have access to their lawyers?
How can we celebrate this day when Western powers are allowed to bomb presidential palaces in Africa and kill innocent children, as recently happened to the grandchildren of Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi?
It is a disgrace that the African Union has failed dismally in defending the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its member states. It is a shame, I believe, that African heads of state have chosen to remain silent when Africa's infrastructure is being systematically destroyed by those who do not share Africa's goal of renewal, advancement and development.
When these are addressed, we will celebrate Africa Day this year. Thank you. [Applause.]